Quick Answer
No, other users cannot see if you star a message on WhatsApp. Starring a message is a private action that only you can see. It helps you easily find important messages in your own chat history, but it does not indicate anything to the sender or other recipients of that message.
Explaining Starring Messages
Starring a message on WhatsApp simply adds a small star icon next to that message in your chat. This star icon will only be visible to you – no one else in that chat will see it or get any indication that you starred that message.
The starring feature is accessed by pressing and holding on a specific message in your WhatsApp chats. A pop-up menu will appear with the option to “Star this message”. Tap that option to star the message.
On Android devices, the star icon will appear to the right of the starred message. On iPhones, it will appear to the left. But again, only you can see this star icon next to messages you have starred.
Starring messages is a private feature intended to help you find and recall important messages easily in your own chat history. For example, you may want to star an address, phone number, meeting details, or any other info you might need to reference back to later.
When you star messages like this, they get added to a Starred Messages section that lets you easily see all your important saved messages in one place. You can access it by tapping the 3-dot menu in any chat, then choosing Starred Messages.
So in summary:
– Starring a message just adds a star icon next to it for you.
– Other users do not see anything change when you star a message.
– It helps you bookmark important info to easily find later in your own chat history.
What Gets Starred in WhatsApp
People often use WhatsApp starring to bookmark all kinds of important details and conversations, such as:
– Addresses or locations they may need to visit again
– Phone numbers they want to save
– Details of an upcoming event or meeting
– Important reminders or task lists
– Key points from work or school conversations
– Nice photos or videos they want to look back on
– Funny jokes or conversations worth reminiscing
– Confirmation details of airline/train bookings, hotel reservations, etc.
– Shipping tracking numbers or order confirmations
– Recipes or restaurant recommendations worth remembering
– Quotes, poems, lyrics, or book passages they liked
– Sweet messages from loved ones they want to treasure
– Any other details worth saving for quick access later
So in general, starring on WhatsApp acts like bookmarking important pages in a book – it allows you to tag messages for easy future reference or retrieval.
Starred Message Privacy
To reiterate an important point – starring a WhatsApp message is completely private to you. No other users will see your starred messages or get notified in any way.
Your starred messages do not have any special status or priority over normal messages either. Starring simply adds a visual bookmark for your own convenience.
The only way others could potentially know you starred a message is if they physically see and recognize the star icon on your own device screen. But this would require them having access to your unlocked phone and app.
WhatsApp does not show any starred or special indicator on a message to the sender or any recipients in the group chat or individual chat where it was originally sent. Your starring action is invisible to them.
You also cannot see if anyone else has starred your own sent messages. Starring always works one way – letting you mark received messages in your own chats for your own reference.
So starring WhatsApp messages is a completely private organizing tool for your own convenience as a user.
How Starring Differs from Other Options
Starring for later reference is different than forwarding or sharing a message with others. Forwarding resends the message content itself to a new chat. Starring does not do this.
Starred messages also remain in their original chat and context. If you forward a message outside the chat, it loses its original context. Starring maintains that context so you can recall when and where you received the original message.
Starring also does not notify the sender or mark the message as special in any way, unlike reacting with an emoji or liking a message. Those features indicate to others that you reacted to their message.
And starring does not save media outside its chat like saving photos/videos does. Starred messages remain within the chat with all their original content and context.
So in summary:
| Action | Visible to Others? | Saves Media? | Original Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starring | No | No | Yes |
| Forwarding | Yes | Yes | No |
| Reacting | Yes | No | Yes |
| Saving Media | No | Yes | No |
Using Starring for Organization
Starring messages for later reference can help you keep your WhatsApp communication organized in a few helpful ways:
1. Bookmarking Important Info
You can use starring to bookmark addresses, links, phone numbers, or other key details you might need later without having to rifle back through all your chats searching for them. Everything you star is conveniently saved in one place.
2. Flagging Conversations
Star conversations you want to follow up on or continue at a later time. This saves you from forgetting or losing your place in the midst of long chats or group talks.
3. Building To-Do Lists
Use starring to flag messages that contain reminders, tasks, or questions you need to take action on so you don’t forget.
4. Tracking Details
Star confirmations, receipts, tracking info, reservation details, etc. to keep travel plans, orders, deliveries, and appointments organized.
5. Saving Memories
Bookmark meaningful, funny, or sentimental messages and media you want to look back on and reminisce about later on.
6. Organizing Work/School Talks
Use starring to flag important points, notes, links, details, and takeaways from professional or academic group chats.
7. Creating Reading Lists
Bookmark book, article, or publication recommendations you get over WhatsApp to easily build a reading list to refer back to.
So in summary, starring helps you organize info, tasks, plans, memories, and more for your own private reference. The star icon serves as a simple visual cue and bookmarking tool readable only by you.
How to Remove Starred Messages
To remove a starred message on WhatsApp:
1. Navigate to the message you want to unstar in its chat.
2. Long press on that message to bring up the menu.
3. Tap the “Star this message” option, which should now be blue/highlighted.
4. Tapping it again will remove the star and unbookmark that message for you.
You can also remove starred status in bulk:
1. Go to the Starred messages section in your menu.
2. Tap the 3-dot menu in the top right corner.
3. Choose “Unstar all” to remove starred status from all messages at once.
Individual and bulk removing stars lets you update your bookmarks as needed – deleting old ones you no longer need quick access to.
Summary and Conclusion
– Starring a message on WhatsApp simply bookmarks it for your own organizational needs.
– Other users do not see your stars and cannot see if you have starred their messages.
– Starring privately flags important info or chats to easily retrieve later.
– It differs from forwarding, reacting, or saving media which have their own visibility rules.
– Use starring to bookmark details, memories, plans, tasks, and more in your chats.
– You can unstar messages when you no longer need them bookmarked.
So starring WhatsApp messages is a handy organizational feature to help you privately flag and find important info in your own chat history. It does not indicate anything to other users – it is for your eyes only.